Helping Your Teen Find Balance Between Work and Homeschool

Homeschooling through high school can seem like a pretty intimidating prospect. Add in a homeschooled teen with a job, and you’re opening a whole other can of worms.

Fear not!

I’m going to offer you a bit of advice today that goes against the grain of your typical homeschooling circles.

A common scenario for those parents homeschooling working teenagers is that after a while, they realize that their kids are beginning to have a tough time handling balancing their work with their homeschool assignments.

The typical response is an ultimatum for these teens:

You either need to get all of your work done, or you’re going to have to quit your job.

Think about it. How much do you remember from what you learned in high school? Be honest.

Since generations of people have been raised in the traditional school setting, we all have an awfully hard time realizing that what goes on in school is not education, but schooling. There is a difference.

When kids are granted the opportunity to engage in the community by holding down a job, they are gaining skills that can only be truly learned in a real-world environment, such as:

learning how to navigate the chain of command

learning how to handle all sorts of people

time management

making decisions on the spur of the moment

managing money wisely

being held responsible by someone outside the home environment

being dependable

These are only a few skills that will be learned, and while you could argue that these lessons are covered in many curriculums, let’s admit that the effect just isn’t the same. It’s comparable to the difference between watching a powerpoint presentation on the life cycle of a frog or going to the creek, finding tadpoles, and raising them to watch the real thing happen right before their eyes!

So again, I’m going to say it:

If you have a working teenager, lighten their load.

Even if they’re planning on going to college, because the life experience they are gaining trumps memorizing trivial facts every. single. time.

I should probably point out here that I have learned this by experience.

I graduated my first homeschooler last year, and, believe me, when she started working and falling behind, I started freaking out. My daughter, on the other hand, was very calm about it and kept reassuring me that everything would be fine.

She was right.

In choosing to trust her, I gained so much wisdom about the reality of what education should be all about, and it certainly isn’t about worksheets.

As for her college placement exams? She rocked them – even after following a very, very relaxed homeschool style – indeed, I’d say almost unschooling – for almost all of her senior year.

In fact, her math scores were higher than her public schooled friends who had the heavy workload all year long – and math is her least favorite subject!

So, dear homeschooling parents, let your high schoolers work. Let them get a taste of what adulting is really like. After all, they’ll be in that phase of life sooner than you think.

Homeschooling and education are my passion. It is my fervent hope to one day devote more time to creating content for you. If you’re interested in helping to make this a reality, consider supporting me on Patreon.
Thank you so much. I appreciate each and every one of you!

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Author: Shelly Sangrey

I'm Shelly, a Christ-following, homeschooling Mom of eleven children ( okay, not ALL children. My oldest is 23.) I met my husband right after graduation, and we've been together ever since. Though my life can be hectic at times... okay, ALL the time, I wouldn't change it for anything.
View all posts by Shelly Sangrey

You are so wise, Shelly!! After all, education is supposed to be preparing them for life!! When do we have 3 hours of worksheet homework at work?? Umm, never.
Thank you for sharing your tips learned in the trenches!